It sure would be cool if Maura survived the ritual and were infused with dark power instead, and now struggles to control it while remaining a bright and optimistic artist...
She loves flowers, and I feel like that can't be any coincidence with the roadmap teaser. Perhaps the emblem on the ground is the Crimson Circle's emblem, or something like that?
Does she really like flowers? I thought she was picking them to use their colour in her paintings. A sort of natural dye you know.
I love the connection you're making though. "Colorful champ", she's an artist... It'd be nice.
Edit; Since Vlad got the flowers from the Blessed Isles, could he infuse her with some magic from there? Maybe he stole other things during his trip... just a thought.
And this is the reason that the new story is coming out now. When the "colorful champion" that was teased with flowers is the next big release. She's gonna be the next champion :D
Although, that's just a theory (obviously), and I actually haven't gotten around to reading the new Vladimir story yet. My only knowledge from it is this thread lmao
I don't think Maura is getting out of this. It would make for an interesting champion, though.
Man there's so many cool theories for the new champ. The Garden of Forgetting crone, a person from the village in Ezreal's field notes, now this. Maura is definitely an easy to say name unique from others in the game, it's not out of the question she could be the champion. Plus keep in mind Riot canceled an ink mage a long time ago where the player drew the skill shots in real time... or painted them.
Or maybe this is just a purely random lore drop with 3 unrelated characters and the flower champion will be another character from the lore or someone new entirely. My only hangup with Maura is that if Vladimir made her a mage, it would be blood magic which seems a little far from colorful flowers. A colorful character with a dark story isn't impossible though, we'll just have to wait a couple weeks and see.
To be honest, I wouldn't even want her to be a champion, but a recurring character in lore. She just wants to do her art and gets support by Vladimir for it (at least to 50% because every new Vlad-themed artwork that gets displayed in Noxus is a petty jab at the Black Rose), who does appear sincere as a lover of the fine arts. Not everyone needs to be a super powerful champion.
My guess on the open end is, that Vladimir tries to build up his own "faction" within Noxus that is a bit more personal than just a weird cult that likes him. However, as a nobleman he has STANDARDS, so he doesn't just hire some goons of the street, but goes after only the most promising artists who he then all gets to know personally. In the end he will have a small but extremly loyal group following him - and as a bonus, in time of peace he can just watch them make art. The loyality is the biggest resource in a conflict with organisations like the Black Rose, and he seems to know that an open break with Le Blanc will happen in the future.
Yeah, I'm glad they did that. I hope she's OK. Runeterra needs more happy endings.
There is a Maura concept from 2 years ago :)
